India’s parliament has approved a controversial bill that amends how transgender people are legally recognised and limits their right to self-identify, sparking protests from opposition parties and the LGBTQ community, reports BBC.
The government says the legislation will make welfare benefits more accessible and strengthen protections against exploitation and trafficking, but critics warn it could exclude many transgender, non-binary and gender-fluid individuals.
India is estimated to have around two million transgender people, though activists say the actual number is higher and legal recognition remains inconsistent. The bill was passed by both houses this week and now requires the president’s assent to become law.
In 2014, India’s Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a “third gender” and affirmed their right to self-identify. Despite these legal protections, many transgender people continue to face discrimination and limited access to education, healthcare and formal employment, often relying on informal work.
The 2019 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act aimed to address vulnerabilities faced by the community. The new bill seeks to amend this law, focusing on how a transgender person is defined.
The government argues the current definition is too vague and makes it difficult to identify the most marginalised individuals. A narrower definition, it says, will ensure welfare benefits such as job reservations and healthcare support reach those who need them. Officials say the changes aim to protect people facing “extreme and oppressive” discrimination and to prevent exploitation and trafficking.
However, the bill removes the right to self-identify and instead restricts recognition to people defined by biological or physical traits. This includes individuals with intersex variations – born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female – and traditional identities long recognised within India’s transgender communities. The legislation also mandates certification from medical boards and district authorities for those undergoing gender-affirming surgeries.
Activists say the bill departs from the 2014 court ruling on self-identification and could reshape legal recognition for transgender people. Critics argue that the new definition may exclude many, particularly those relying on self-identification, including some trans men and women as well as non-binary and gender-fluid individuals. They also say mandatory medical certification undermines dignity and autonomy.
“It has shattered our identity,” transgender rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi told reporters.
Activist Grace Banu told a press conference in Delhi that the community was seeking “recognition without invasion” and “rights without humiliation”. “This is not protection, but violation,” Banu added.
Lawyer N Kavitha Rameshwar wrote in The Times of India that the removal of “the factor of self-determination” constitutes an “attack on the privacy and dignity of the individual”.
A Supreme Court-appointed advisory panel has urged the government to withdraw the bill, warning that removing self-identification violates the 2014 ruling. The panel also called for wider consultation, cautioning that the changes could undermine efforts to safeguard transgender rights.
Over the past two weeks, LGBTQ community members have staged protests across India against the proposed amendments. Opposition politicians have also criticised the legislation, describing it as “draconian”.
Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi called it a “brazen attack” on transgender rights, while Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) questioned why the bill was introduced in what she described as a “hasty manner”.
